Explanation:
Welcome to the December
Solstice,
first day of winter in the north and summer
in the southern hemisphere of planet Earth.
Today the Sun reaches its southernmost
declination
in the sky at 19:21 Universal Time.
Just a short week ago, as the Sun approached the end of its annual
journey south, it was eclipsed by the Moon.
Observers in Costa Rica witnessed a fleeting
annular eclipse with
the Moon surrounded by a
dramatic
bright ring as it covered about 96
percent of the visible solar surface during
the maximum phase.
But from most of the Americas
this eclipse was
partial ... and skies were
often partially cloudy!
Public Television Engineer
Stan Richard captured this
view near Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
Taken close to eclipse maximum for his location,
the sharp, silhouetted edge of the Moon is visible
through the clouds
in the lower left quadrant of the solar disk.